Nancy L.’s Post

The Fast Food Industry is Feeling the Heat The fast food world is in a serious shake-up. With prices soaring, giants like Pizza Hut, KFC, and even McDonald's are seeing sales slip. Remember when McD's was unstoppable? Not so much anymore. But don't count out the golden arches just yet. They're cleverly playing the value card, bringing back that old Dollar Menu magic with a new $5 meal deal. It's a smart move to win back customers. While McDonald's still reigns supreme, Chick-fil-A is proving to be a serious contender. They might have fewer locations, but their average store brings in double the revenue! Now that's impressive. Subway, on the other hand, is facing some serious challenges. Despite being a franchise giant, their store count is shrinking. Can they turn things around? Meanwhile, up-and-comers like Jersey Mike's and Wingstop are on fire. They're expanding rapidly and capturing the hearts (and taste buds) of customers. It's a wild time to be in the fast food industry. Who will come out on top? #fastfood #business #economy #mcdonalds #chickfila #subway #jerseymike #wingstop Read More: [Link to the article](https://lnkd.in/dpFbXPVX)

McDonald's is considering adding a $5 meal to its menu across the U.S. to attract more customers. Reportedly, the budget meal would include a choice of a McChicken, McDouble or four-piece chicken McNuggets with fries and a drink. The fast-food company is in discussions with its franchise owners about the deal, Bloomberg reports. The recent move comes as McDonald's reported lower revenue from low-income countries and slower foot traffic in its stores. Following this, Chief Executive Officer Chris Kempczinski announced that the company would focus more on keeping the prices low. "I think what you're going to see as you head into 2024 is probably more attention to what I would describe as affordability," he said during an earnings call in February. read more...👇 #rttnews #mcdonalsintroducesnewmeal #mcdonaldsusanewvaluemeal #mcdonaldsbudgetmeal #mcdonaldsfootprinttraffic #mcdonaldsvaluemeals #fastfoodchainupdates

A&W Restaurants, Inc.’s 105-year journey through economic challenges shows the power of resilience and quality. After being acquired by franchisees in 2011, A&W, under CEO Kevin Bazner, focused on its core values to drive growth. Here is a quick summary from the full article • U.S. quick-service traffic is down, but A&W grew same-store sales by 3.7% in the first half of 2024. • A focus on quality and nostalgia, like making root beer fresh in-store daily, has set A&W apart. • Rather than discounting, the brand emphasizes premium offerings, with innovations like the French Onion Double Cheeseburger outperforming forecasts. • A&W is expanding delivery and growing its franchise network, with plans for Walmart and non-traditional locations. A&W’s strategy proves that quality and innovation can thrive, even in challenging times. https://lnkd.in/gsTZnec7 #FranchiseGrowth #QSR #AandW #RestaurantIndustry #Innovation #Quality Danny Klein

The price of a Big Mac has risen from £2.99 to £4.69 in just four years - McDonald’s has suffered a drop in sales for the first time since the pandemic as customers shun more expensive Big Macs. The fast food chain reported a 1pc fall in global sales in the three months to the end of June – the first decline since the end of 2020, when stores were closed during lockdown. The price of a Big Mac has surged by around 60pc since 2020 from £2.99 to £4.69, while a Happy Meal now costs £3.59 compared to £2.99 four years ago. https://lnkd.in/eitqQq3z

15𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐲, 1940 ― 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐜𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐝’𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 🍔McDonald’s back then was rather a barbecue joint started by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald. It served stuff like slow cooked barbecue and hot dogs alongside a long menu of other food items. 🍔But despite being a slow service joint, the sales picked up pretty quickly. Maybe 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫. The McDonald brothers employed servers who’d take orders and serve customers in its parking lot. 🍔But no matter how much they tried to associate themselves with the barbecue business, the brothers observed that 80% 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐬. 🍔So they had an idea. They shut shop for a few months, fired a bunch of servers and revamped everything to focus on just burgers. The number of items on their menu dropped to just 9 including hamburgers, cheese burgers, French fries and a few beverages. These items were cheap too. 🍔They also drew 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐝’𝐬 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦, or a system that broke the manufacturing process into smaller bits with a pre-planned sequence and started the ‘Speedee Service System’. That helped them assemble the food ahead of time with a lower workforce. It was fast! 🍔That impressed Ray Kroc, a milkshake machine salesman, who went on to become McDonald’s’ first franchise agent. By 1958, McDonald’s had sold 100 million burgers! And soon enough Kroc bought the business from the McDonald brothers for $2.7 million. 🍔But despite breaking ties with the business, the McDonald brothers retained the original restaurant they kickstarted in 1940, renaming it “Big M”. That obviously annoyed Kroc, who quickly opened a McDonald’s around it. 🍔 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐌𝐜𝐃𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐝’𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫, 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 ‘𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟’ 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 $190 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧+ 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐠𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲! #business #growth #strategy #linkedinforcreators

🍔 In light of rising food and restaurant prices, McDonald’s $5 Meal has driven traffic, especially in urban areas, but it's a mixed bag, according to BTIG analyst Peter Saleh. The promotion generated transactions but fell short on expected guest visits, impacting franchisee margins due to savvy consumers using additional digital coupons. To continue growing, McDonald’s needs to become more attractive to lower-income consumers. 💰 From a supply chain perspective, this indicates a need for a stronger focus on price and value chain management. This includes deeper cost breakdowns, implementing long-term price contracts, and other risk hedging strategies. McDonald's has been an early indicator of major shifts in consumer behavior. Following these market trends closely. #SupplyChain #QSR #McDonalds #ValueStrategy #MarketTrends #CustomerInsights

https://lnkd.in/ghXHvEwG The Fast-casual segment like other sectors is having to reinvent business models to deal with a variety of structural changes post pandemic. For example, 10 years ago wages were around $9 and hour and pizzas sold at $8. Today, its $20 per hour for wages and pizzas sold at $11-$12. All this puts pressure on suppliers to be far more profitable and open to sharing the assortment space with new micro brands. Micro brands for restaurants often bring new younger audiences, more margin, innovation, more data, and more. #businessmodel #restaurants #wages

10 Forgotten Fast Food Chains That Didn’t Stand The Test Of Time https://lnkd.in/eSB3DAsU #FastFoodHistory, #BusinessLessons, #Nostalgia, #RestaurantIndustry, #BrandEvolution, #EconomicImpact, #FoodBusiness, #MarketingStrategy, #BusinessFailures, #ThrowbackThursday

The NY Times quoted me today about the incredible rise in McDonald's stock price over the last 20 years. For a business school professor the interesting question is how did McDonald's pull off the ability to boost earnings per share from under $2 in 2004 to almost $12 today? A big factor the story missed -- getting rid of company owned stores! In 2004 McDonald's had over nine thousand company owned. Today, the figure is a bit over two thousand. Those restaurants didn't disappear, they were just sold to franchisees. Going from 30% company owned stores to 5% lowered costs, shifted risks to franchise partners and super-sized profits. https://lnkd.in/eBuxj7EN

Why are there still so many eager customers for McDonald's burgers and franchisees? McDonald's has been a staple in the fast-food industry for decades, but recent changes have left some customers and franchisees questioning its affordability. With $16 burger meals and increased franchise royalty payments, it's no surprise that some are feeling the pinch. Additionally, minimum wage increases and collective bargaining requirements for franchisees and franchisors have added to the financial strain. To top it off, unilateral increases in non-royalty fees for franchisees have only added to the frustration. Read more about the challenges facing McDonald's franchisees and customers in the article linked below. https://lnkd.in/g3WRppwa